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Newb-Racer; LiPo, ESC, and Servo Questions

I'm stationed out East and have no time to practice. But when I'm home in the Midwest, I'd like to race more competitively. Got my Slash 4x4 in November and its completely stock (the 'ultimate' package). I'm competitive enough to race against other racers on my stock tires, which if youre racer, you know is tough to race with.

I'm looking to invest about $200 or a little more when I get back. Minus the tires, what would be a good upgrade?
LiPo 4000mah
a new servo
a fan and/or heat sink for the ESC
or new motor

I'd like to be at least competitive with possibly the mid-pack racers out there. I'm currently able to get 13laps in a 5min session up at Trackside w/ stock tires, the stock 7cell NiMH battery, 3500 motor. Also swapped out the slip-dif and put in a 52T gear.

I would pick up some 2S lipos, and then save the rest to see what tires, etc, the guys at your hometown track are running. Or you could order a tenshock motor with hobbiewing wp sc8 like I just did, but I'm biased.

I would take the STRC LCG chassis if you want to be competitive, it will change everything. I dont know how much lipos youve got?... Dont waste your money on a new motor. The velineon is a good motor to start with. And yes, a fan for the ESC is a good idea...

I would take the STRC LCG chassis if you want to be competitive, it will change everything. I dont know how much lipos youve got?... Dont waste your money on a new motor. The velineon is a good motor to start with. And yes, a fan for the ESC is a good idea...

I dont own any lipos yet. I've been looking into them and was thinking the Traxxas 3s 4000mah LiPo because itll give me more voltage than my stock 4series battery and will have good duration too. What do you think?

I dont own any lipos yet. I've been looking into them and was thinking the Traxxas 3s 4000mah LiPo because itll give me more voltage than my stock 4series battery and will have good duration too. What do you think?

You dont need 3S. 3S is more the bashers choice and the parts of your car will wear out much faster. I didnt know races were 3S is allowed. Take a good 2S lipo... 30C-40C is enough.

At the moment I´m using Team Orion Rocket Sport Lipos 7.4V with 25C and 4200mAh. I´m racing for about a year and the power of them is enough to start with... The next Lipos I will buy are Gens Ace 5300mAh 7.4V 30C 2S1P Hard Case. I chose them because I´ve got the new STRC chassis and its a little bit heavier than the stock one and because of the better capacity.

My avg top 5 mid to low 22 seconds. Close to breaking into 21s if I ran more consistent and had more practice. My fastest lap is in the 20sec range.
The guys racing mid-pack are getting in 15 to 17 laps, averaging around 17-19seconds

My avg top 5 mid to low 22 seconds. Close to breaking into 21s if I ran more consistent and had more practice. My fastest lap is in the 20sec range.
The guys racing mid-pack are getting in 15 to 17 laps, averaging around 17-19seconds

That sounds pretty good for a newbie... I think its all a question of setting up your truck right (tires and shocks/springs) and the power you will get from a lipo batterie...

On the subject of suspension and jumps, I'm hearing a slight grinding sound when the truck compresses before a jump.

At first I thought it might be from the tires rubbing up underneath the body which Ive noticed before (the paint is wearing away in under the rear fenders.) I want to say its not bottoming out anymore after the adjustments but not sure. I'm still hearing it.

I'm still running the stock springs and shocks, though Ive changed the mounting positions on top and bottom (both in the front and rear) I've also added bigger spacers to compress the springs, make it a little stiffer, and give a little more ride height.

Will new shocks & springs solve this problem or is there something else I should look at or be looking for?

Thanks for the help guys! Everyones been helpful and now Ive got a shopping list and some more research to do haha!

On the subject of suspension and jumps, I'm hearing a slight grinding sound when the truck compresses before a jump.

At first I thought it might be from the tires rubbing up underneath the body which Ive noticed before (the paint is wearing away in under the rear fenders.) I want to say its not bottoming out anymore after the adjustments but not sure. I'm still hearing it.

I'm still running the stock springs and shocks, though Ive changed the mounting positions on top and bottom (both in the front and rear) I've also added bigger spacers to compress the springs, make it a little stiffer, and give a little more ride height.

Will new shocks & springs solve this problem or is there something else I should look at or be looking for?

Thanks for the help guys! Everyones been helpful and now Ive got a shopping list and some more research to do haha!

No pal, the stock shocks are great, but the stock springs are trash. The stock springs are to soft at the beginning and to hard at the end. Thats what we call progressiv springs. Take a look at the winding of them... on the outside of the springs their is more windig than at the inside. You need new springs and shock oil too. At the moment I´m driving the silver springs from the Hot Racing Set with 42,5 WT in front (50WT is stock) and 32,5 WT in rear (40 WT is stock). A lower WT-rate means thin oil > they react faster.

The problem with the stock setup is the following: Youve got a very high ground cleareance and the car tends to flip. To get rid of this problem is to incline the shocks, but inclining shocks make them more stiff (progressiv)... and you shorten the damping way also (beccause of the additional C-Clips).

Forget the stock set-up. I learned setting up my car by doing a base setup on street and then modifing it for off-road.

I will take a few photos now and post them here.

First off all 2 photos of my car with front and rear pushed to the ground (with lipo)
Dont forget, that I´ve got a lipo (lighter than stock nimh batterie) and the STRC chassis (a little bit heavier than stock) and also the silver springs on my car.

If I set the general ride high I always look, that my drifeshaft are almost parallel to the ground.
Best torque and also a flat ride high. At the rear you can take a little more ride hight (not parallel to ground) because the rear will compress if you have your finger on the throttle trigger.

I dont need much ride hight because I´m driving street and
carpet off road (no big stones on the track)

And now without compression. You see, that the A-arms facing down to get more ground cleareance before the impact after jumping.

Last edited by cooleocool; 01-06-2013 at 10:18 PM.
Reason: post merge (and edited for language abuse by another mod.)